Jacob Ray is a senior at Daleville Jr./Sr. High School. He is the senior class vice president. Jacob, when asked if his high school years went by fast, said, “Definitely! It’s hard to pinpoint the years,” he says along with, “soon you’re a senior!” Along with going fast, he says that his high school experience has changed him from being a “typical nerd” to being more “chill-laxed.” He encourages younger students to take as many college classes as possible. He says that taking these classes is a great way to take college classes early and at a “fraction of the cost.” Jacob also recommends students to take part in extracurriculars. Some suggested by him are; the Honor Societies (any of the subjects). If you aren’t so strong in academics, and an honor society isn’t an option, he recommends you take part in community service/volunteer work. He says that colleges and scholarship programs care about both of these, so taking part in these activities can aid you in getting into a college if you are interested in that! Another bit of advice given from Jacob and backed by almost four years of high school experience is, “Sometimes it is better to let go, than hold on.”  When he says this he is referring to the bonds and relationships you may have in high school. Something he adds to this is that you must remember that finding people that are going to build you up rather than tear you down is important.

I asked Jacob questions about what he was proud of, and what he regretted during his high school years. Some of the things he is proud of is how he did in his classes, getting students to look up to him, and the way he made teachers feel. Some of his regrets were the occasional sleeping in class and not keeping a detailed record of his achievements and activities. He encourages others to keep a record of these things because colleges want to know everything about your high school years! Something, in particular, is, keeping track of community service hours in order to give colleges an accurate number of hours.

Jacob is planning to attend college after high school! He has some options in mind. One of the public schools he is considering is IUPUI, along with the private schools: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Trine University. He plans to major in mechanical engineering, with a minor in whatever comes up, if he gets into honors college. His plans for a future career relate to his major, but he wants it to do something in the field of robotics. Some of these may include working for Boston Dynamics or as a Disney Imagineer. He has also considered architecture, being a lawyer, or working in cybersecurity. Mechanical engineering stands out because he enjoys “hands-on building” and says, “I’ve just always been fascinated with that kind of stuff!” He is excited for the future because he would rather be intrigued with something than to be bored. Jacob foresees college making him gain more responsibility because he will be off on his own, as an adult, and may not be able to lean on as many people but rely on himself more. 

Jacob has aspired himself a great future and personally I can’t wait to see where it takes him!